Faith Is Action Not a Feeling

Crazy. Welcome. Welcome. How are you guys? Everybody's doing good? Whoo.

How are you? Come on. Right here. Right? Right Right here. Father God, we come before you this morning, father, to, please, invoke your presence in this place, father God.

Let all we do worship you, father. Cleanse our hands, father. Cleanse our our bodies, father. Whatever needs to go, make it go, Father, so we could freely worship you. Yes. We wanna enter that holy place, Father God.

Yes. We wanna come before you and leave everything that we need to leave by your feet, Father. We praise you, Father. We honor you this morning. And everything that we do, father. Everything that we do, we honor your name.

Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah. You are my everything. Hallelujah.

Lord, what a god. I think sometimes we we pray, we we ask, we petition, we supplicate, but there's times you just gotta come and worship him. You know, just just give him glory. Are my everything. Stick your hands to the Lord and tell him. Are my Lord, we just thank you.

Thank you. You are our everything. We thank you. You're taking care of everything. We thank you, Lord, that everything's in your hands. Lord, we thank you.

We give you all the glory, all the honor, all the praise this morning. Lord, you are a great and mighty god. Today, we worship you. Lord, we worship you. We praise you. We put our eyes on you.

Lord, our hearts turn towards you, and you are our enemy. Lord, let us have a new hunger and a new thirst for you. Lord, let it not just be today. Let it be Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday throughout the week. Lord, that we just look to you and we praise you. We magnify you, Lord.

We glorify you, Lord. We, Lord, we hunger for you. We seek you, Lord, and we will find you, Lord. And, Lord, that all the needs will be met according to your riches and glory, all the things that we're worried about, all the cares you'll carry. Because, Lord, you are everything, this one. We just praise you.

We magnify you. We glorify you. We love you this morning, Lord. Lord, you are good to us, Lord. Has something to say about what he's done for us. We'll be here all day.

Hallelujah. Let's just say thank you. Yes. Don't ask for anything. Just say thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.

Thank you. Let's give Jesus a big round of applause this morning. Hallelujah. Wow. Hallelujah. What a God we serve.

Amen? Amen. So good to be in church. So glad that you're here. Welcome to Imagine. And, man, what a god we serve.

Amen. Wow. Hallelujah. Lord, we thank you that your presence is here. We thank you, lord, that our hearts are headed and turned and facing and looking to you. And, Lord, we just thank you for all that you're gonna do in our lives, all that you're doing, Lord.

We thank you that our lives is living worship to you, that we are a holy living sacrifice made unto you, Lord, that we just can't help because of the great sacrifice you made to respond to what you've already done, the position that you've already placed us in as your kids. And we have a great father. Lord, we love you. And we thank you, Lord, in this time, you're taking and fighting our battles. You're taking care of the things that have been worrying us, Lord, because you are God. Lord, you're healing people.

You're you're moving in power, Lord. You're distributing your grace like never before. And, Lord, I just thank you for what you are, who you are. You are our everything this morning. Lord, our hope, our faith is in you. Jesus, our great high priest, we give you glory.

In Jesus' name, we pray, and all God's people said, amen. Amen. Hey. Welcome to church. Hey. Say hello to five, 10 people in here.

Give a high five, and we'll be right back. I'm gonna get some... You guys can... Oh, everyone's gonna get a little coffee, a little water, and then In a blanket. And a blanket. Yes.

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Bro, we just had the amazing time in worship. Do you know how to... Go ahead. Imagine Church USA is part of something much bigger than just a local gathering. We are connected to a global church with strong leadership, clear values, and a proven history of faithfulness. In just six years, God has taken Imagine Church from zero people to over 8,000 members in over fifteen This is not just a church for the city.

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We're here every Sunday at 10AM, here at the Holiday Inn. Hotel hotel Holiday Inn. Isn't that a song? But you're welcome here at 10AM. Come a little early, coffee, donuts, lots of cool people that don't speak English. No.

I'm just kidding. I mean, they speak English. They all speak English. But people from all around the world is here. And, guys, thank you so much for all your... What we do, what you do together.

What a great time of worship we just had. Man, because I want to encourage you, it's so important that don't wait till Sunday. Do this at home. You know, Hebrews talks about that He's a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. Right? And so it's so important that our faith, and that's what we're going talk about here in just a second, is not just a Sunday thing.

It's a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday thing. So today, we're starting a new series called Faith in Action. Or actually, we're starting a new series on faith. And the next five weeks, it's gonna be a powerful time of us to be strengthened by faith, talk about what is faith. I grew up in church, and I didn't know what faith was. It sounded like a magical word.

It's like faith, what is that? What does it mean to have faith? What is all that? And so for the next five weeks, we're gonna be going through the series on faith. I think two weeks from now Pastor David is going come share. It's going to be awesome, because he runs Reima Bolivia, and they teach faith.

We believe faith. It came out of the same school, so we are faith teachers and preachers and believers. So what is faith, though? How many of you... You know, this is the problem. We we believe in God, but we live throughout the week like he doesn't exist.

It's almost like it's almost like he's just a scripture card in the bathroom, and and we acknowledge him. We might walk by him. Oh, I I believe in God. I believe what he did. But throughout throughout the week, it's like our faith, we really don't live by faith. We don't really maybe even believe what we think we believe because it's really just...

I don't know. It's some disconnection. We believe in God, but we live maybe I would... It probably lived this week like he didn't even exist. It's almost like we're here Sunday. What a God.

What a God. And we're like, yes. And then Monday, it's like we just... It's like a complete disconnection, and we go back to our lives of, Well, we've to figure it out all by ourselves, and we've to do it, we've got to think it, and we've to figure it out. And then next Sunday we come back and we worship Him. And it might be the only time we actually worship him.

It might be the only time we actually open the scriptures or even read it or hear the word of God, and we live our life like he really doesn't exist except on Sunday. Now what is faith? Like, what is it? You know? And he... Because you can believe in God and still live like he's not in the room, but what is faith?

Hebrews chapter 11 verse one. It says, now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, but the conviction of things not seen. So faith, what's assurance? Assurance is like, man, I'm sure. Faith is the assurance.

I got this this belief, this... I I know that I know it's the foundation of what I believe and why. Faith is what you believe. What do you believe about God? And where did you figure it out and hear about it? The more you hear about God, know about God, live for God, the assurance of who God is, that he is...

It says hope in God. Have faith in God. He's the... We gotta have this assurance of of who he is. This conviction of who God is. Right?

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen. Right? Assurance, solid conviction that my feet are standing. A proof, evidence that God is who he says he is. Right?

Now faith is not a feeling, because feelings change by lunch. You know, faith is not just, Oh, I feel like, I just feel... I'm feeling it today. There's some days I don't feel like I'm saved. There's some days I feel bad, and there's other days I feel great. When the sun's out, I feel better.

And then when it's raining, I don't feel as good. Or faith is not a feeling because feelings change by lunch. Faith is not just positive thinking. It might be part of it, but it's not just good vibes. That's not just... Faith is not, pretending the problem isn't there either.

That's not faith either. Faith is trust. Trusting in a person. His name is Jesus. And we put our trust, our faith in... What a God, what a God, a good God.

Faith is trust in a person. So we have assurance that's like a firm foundation, and we have conviction. That word means proof and evidence. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of the things not seen. And it's trust. So Romans ten seven says, faith comes how?

Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. That's how faith comes. So faith comes. Where does faith come? How do you know that God is a good God? How do you know that Jesus did what he said he did for you?

Someone had to tell you. This is what Jesus did. He died on the cross for you. Now all your sins are forgiven. All your transgressions are wiped away. Why?

Well, that God is good, that God is faithful, that God is loving, that God is love. You hear that. Well, I thought he was hate and angry. I thought he was mad. I thought he was... Oh, no.

His steadfast love endures forever. He's a covenantal God. He he never leaves you nor forsake you. He's for you. He's not against you. Romans 10 says faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God.

So it's so important for us to be in his word, to open his word, and to read his word, and declare his word because the more you read this, the more you get to have this faith, this conviction, this assurance of the person that we believe in. The more you read this, the more we get this in our heart. The bible says the more... David would say, hey, I've hidden your word in my heart so I don't sin against you. Why? Well, how do I even know what sin is if I don't even know what it...

God says about it? The more you know about your father, the more you can trust him as his son. As your son. As a son. The more you know him about as a father, more you trust him as a daughter. And the more you know about your father, the more you can trust him.

Trust is everything. If you can't trust in God, then you can't have faith. So we want more faith. We get in the word. Where do you get more of it? Where do you get where do you build conviction?

Where do you get assurance? From his word. And faith grows from the word of God. Faith grows where the word grows. So it's like, if I need more love, then I get into the word where it talks about love. Love is patient, love is kind, love is never envious, love is not jealous, love is not envious.

Where's that? God is love. You read that about who God is and what he says, and your faith grows. Oh, I'm supposed to be a loving person. I gotta forgive that person. Oh my gosh, I gotta let that go.

Oh my gosh, because he let it go for me, now I gotta let it go for others. Well, where did you learn that? Where did you hear that? Faith came by hearing. What you believe, the assurance, the trust, the conviction came because of what you heard, what you were told, and what was communicated to you through the scripture. His word is living and active, and it...

It's powerful. And the more you heed it... Hear it, and the more you read it, the more energy you get from it, and the more trust you can trust in your father, the more you read through all the stories that we're gonna read through throughout the next five weeks of Moses and David and Jesus and all these great men and women of God that put their faith, their trust in God, and they saw him move. And because of that story, and we see how faithful he was, he didn't turn their back on him, he didn't go schizophrenic on him, he didn't bipolar God, he's a loving God. And the more you hear it and read it, the more confidence you have as you go through life when the storms, when everything falls, when the widow has a husband that dies, and she has nothing, and all of a sudden, God comes through. When Daniel, is praying three times a day, all of a sudden is thrown into the lion's den, but God shuts the mouths of the lions.

Whenever Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego are told to worship another god or else they'll be thrown in the fiery furnace, they said, no. Throw us in the fire even if we get burned up. And you read those stories and you realize, look how God all the time came through, all the time takes care of his children, that his children don't beg for bread. As you start hearing and continually hearing, it gives you this faith, this assurance, this conviction that God is a good God, that he's for you, not against you. Amen. So this is what people skip though.

In James two seventeen, it says, So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, it is dead. A lot of people have dead faith. I believe him on Sunday, but on Monday I don't live for him, I don't acknowledge him, I don't talk to him, I don't worship him, I don't talk... Nothing. Monday through Saturday, it's idle, it's dead. Sunday, I turn it back on.

Oh, there's the... Oh, I got some faith right now. Real faith always does something. Faith is action. You know, whenever you heard about Jesus, your faith was activated when you called on his name, and he saved you. Why?

Because you called out on what you heard. You had this faith, and then you declared, you confessed with your mouth that Jesus is my lord, and he is my savior. He is... What a god. What a god. I love it.

See faith is trusting God enough to move before you see. Trust and obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus. See, faith isn't a feeling, it's a step. Faith is action. Oh, I love Jesus, but I don't share my faith. Well, then your faith is idle.

Oh, I love Jesus, but I don't live for him, but then your faith is idle. It's dead. Oh, I know he's my lord and my savior, but I never have any works or deeds or any action or any outward appearance of what is already supposedly taken on the inside of me. Yeah, but I I fear God, do you? I want wisdom. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.

So faith is is action. Faith without corresponding actions is dead. I could say, oh, I'm called in the ministry, and I'm gonna start a church. But I know so many people that are called to do something and they never start, they have idle faith. I know I'm supposed to do this. I know God's put in my heart, but I haven't started yet.

Well, you have idle faith or dead faith. It's not living faith. Living faith is when you start acting out and moving. The the the widow could have been told by Elisha, hey. Go get the jars and bring them in so then God could start putting the oil in so then you could sell it and you could take care of your debts, past, present, future. Yeah.

I know I heard you say that, but you know what? I'm not gonna go and get the jars. Alright. So your faith has no works. There's no action. Most of the time, god moves when you move.

Hey. I want you to part the Red Sea before I take the whole nation to it. No. I want you to walk up to the Red Sea. I want you to lift up your hand, and then I'll part it. What?

No. No. No. No. I wanna see you do all that. No.

As you go, I go. Faith is action. Amen. We're talking about faith. Look at Hebrews eleven six. And without faith, it's impossible to please him.

For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists, number one, and that he rewards those who seek him. Draw near. That's what we were doing today in worship. We could have just said, let's stop the song, it already went three minutes, click, stop. No. No.

No. There's a time and throughout our life, and our whole life should be constantly seeking and drawing near to God. Because if he really exists and he is really God, then my life should have action and habits and a rhythm like Daniel had, like all these great men and women had, that that they would seek the Lord. That every time they would go to battle right before, let me ask the Lord. Well, why? Because I believe he exists.

And if I believe he exists and he has all the wisdom and he has everything that I need, then I should be going to him constantly and talking to him and finding out his will and his plan. And he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him. Have we sought him this week? Really? And I'm preaching to myself. The very first step of faith is not towards a goal, it's towards him.

Everything you desire and need comes from him. So go to him first, seek first the kingdom, seek first Jesus, live for him, let your life be about him, go find him, Seek him. Make time for him. That's the goal. Believe that he exists and that he is a rewarder. He will reward you with peace and confidence and wisdom.

And, man, all I know is you don't want to wait till you're thrown into the lion's den to then go to God. It's too... A little too late. It's not too late, but but, bro, you're going to be thrown in the lion's den many times in your lifetime, in many different ways. But when you have been drawing near to God, and you know who he is, And you have this unshakable trust that in Proverbs when it says, when you get bad news, your heart's not shaken. Why?

Because you know what a God I serve. Amen. You gotta believe He exists, that He rewards those who seek Him. See, faith doesn't just believe God exists, faith moves towards Him. Faith doesn't just believe that he exists, faith moves towards him. So over the next five weeks, we'll watch four people be put into action, Moses, Daniel, Esther, Jesus.

But today, four things real faith does. Point number one, faith believes he's there. Faith believes he's there. Revelations three twenty says, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him and he with me. Don't miss this.

Jesus is not just in heaven. He's standing at the door of your life knocking right now. And most people you think, well, I need to go search... He's searching for you. He's at the door of your life saying, hey, let me in. And not even just let me in, but then let me sit down and dine with you, and let's eat.

Let's conversa. Let's have a conversation and have some and let's eat. Amen. He wants to have a friendship with you. That's why even today, you know, we could have prayed for a bunch of things. I know there's a bunch of needs here.

But, you know, as you get in a relationship with God, you start to realize, wait a minute, I just wanna seek the Lord because I wanna be with the Lord, that's it. He's going to take care of your needs. He's going to help you. He's going to fight your battles. But it's not... You know, and there's nothing wrong with Philippians four, which I was going to read today, where it talks about come to him with whatever...

You know, offer up with prayer and supplication and make requests unto God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ. There's nothing wrong with doing that. But then there's also other things of relationship with your father that you wanna have, which is sometimes just... I'm just gonna just get on my knees and say, what a God. What a God.

And just worship him. And worship him. And just worship. Ascribe all the glory to him. Honor him. Praise him.

Lord, I thank you, Lord. You are good. And it's not always about what I need because I have needs. We all have needs. You got a lot... We all got a grocery list, a shopping list, need list.

But God has always wanted a relationship with you and with me. Look at Moses. He had a face to face relationship with the creator. They would meet and talk to one another. Adam and Eve talked to each other. Jesus, all the time, got with the father.

And everywhere he went, he said, hey, I'm doing what I saw my father do. I'm doing what he told me to do. Because all the time you see him before, late at night or early in the morning, he's getting away to be with the father, and then whenever things took and came up to him or situations arose, he already had the inside information or the full confidence and trust in God because he's with his father. And because he's with his father and his father is telling him things or speaking to him things or giving him just peace, man, I'm telling you, peace alone is everything. It's worth more than gold and every credit card limit or whatever you need is peace. To have peace in storms, peace when everything's going crazy, just to know that I am with my father, he's got me, and knowing that I'm good with him because you are, and that you have a relationship with him, you got peace.

See, God isn't far. He's at the door. So you don't have to climb your way to God. And I know it's a constant thing we gotta get with our brains. Like, a minute. I'm in right standing with God.

I'm in right position with God. I'm a son and daughter of God. He loves me. I'm a part of his kingdom. I'm a king's kid. I'm the nobility of God.

Right? But then we somehow still think that we have to earn it and have to pray a thousand hours and and pray in tongues for a year before it maybe we get to a... And then we get this works mentality, and we gotta rest and realize, wait a minute. I've already been saved. I'm a new creature. God is in me.

He loves me. He's not telling me to jump through 12 courses to get to the certain level and then you can hear it. No. My sheep know your voice. It's it. And I'm just gonna...

And and and we're trying to earn our way to him, and he's been knocking the whole time. Hey. Come. Come. Come. I wanna eat with you.

I wanna talk with you. I wanna have time with you. I wanna I wanna... You know? I'm saying that God isn't far. He's at the door.

Let him in. Make time. Make time. No. I I don't got time. You got time.

You can make time for what's important. If I believe he exists, if the king of glory exists, which he does, The the creator of the universe exists, which he does. He is more powerful than any algorithm, than any AI institute, than anything and anything and everyone in all collective wisdom. I would think it would behoove you, and I would strongly suggest and highly encourage that your life be transformed by starting today, that maybe it'd be time to spend time to really seek after the creator because he's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. He will reward you. You will find him.

But we must start living. Turn on our faith. Turn it on. And say, okay, I'm his child. He saved me. Then I should make time for him.

Because I think when I do that, maybe everything I've been striving for or hoping to see, I think will probably change. And I'm not even going to do that just because I want to see change. I just want to do it because I want to know him. And the more I know him, the more I trust, and he's a rewarder. Faith believes he's good. Point number two.

Faith believes he's good. He is good. He rewards those who seek him. He is a rewarder. He is good. He wants to reward you.

This is what I've learned in twenty plus years of ministry. You'll never run to a god you think is disappointed in you. You see the, you know the parable of the prodigal son. I mean, the son does all this bad stuff, takes his inheritance early, which meant, hey, I don't care about you, goes out and spends it all, does all kind of horrible things that you've all done and I've done and we can all collectively throw into a bag of things that as horrible. And it says in Luke fifteen twenty, and he rose, his father came to his father, but while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him. I still love this guy despite all the issues you got, Yoli, because you got a lot.

Right? All we... All of us got issues and things we need to change and do different, but the father, I mean, the father is running to the son. He's running to you. Oh, but I've messed up. Oh, I'm not where I wanna be.

Oh, I know it. The son had the speech ready. Hey. I'll be your servant. The father saw him and he felt compassion. That's the father.

When we read these things and hear these things, in that culture, men didn't run. I don't know. Grown men today don't run. I ain't running. I'm walking. That's my son coming back.

I see him a long way off sprinting to him because of the compassion and love that's how God is with you. See when you read and you get this in your heart, start to see the very nature of the God. What a God, what a God that we serve. He's running towards you. So faith doesn't just believe God exists, faith moves towards him. He's a rewarder.

He will reward you, those who diligently seek him. Amen. Come on. It's time. It's temple. Let's go.

Point three, faith makes time. Faith makes time. Now I love this verse because we love as pastors and preachers love to use it when it comes to money. For where your treasure is is there your heart will also be, in Matthew six twenty one. Where your treasure is is where your heart will also be. And here's the truth.

You don't find time. You make time. And you always make time for what you treasure. And this is true in a heavenly relationship with God. This is true in a marriage. This is true in a relation...

If you're dating some guy or some girl and they don't have time for you, they don't treasure you. Husbands, if we don't make time for our wife over time, they're gonna think we don't treasure then. Why? Well, your treasure is where your heart will be. Business owners, you put your clients on the calendar, investors, the gym, but God, you gotta put God on it first. It's gotta be the priority number one relationship.

Yeah. I got these clients. I gotta go make this money. No. But you need to get with the heavenly father who'll give you more clients than you could ever dream of if you made time to seek him because he's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Amen.

Show me your calendar and your screen time, and I'll show you your treasure. I don't have time. Let's all pull out our screens and look at the time. It's horrible. Don't do it. It's bad when you do it.

How much we scroll just alone on a tablet, on a screen that's created. It's not even the creator. This is what the Bible days, people were worshiped created things, not the creator. Imagine all these things that we love and we do, we start to give them our attention. They become our idols. They become what we listen to and seek seek out, and then we don't even seek the one who created it all, our father.

Daniel prayed three times a day. This guy was one of the most successful guys in in the times of the day. If you read through the book of Daniel, oh my gosh. This guy is like everywhere he goes. Favor. Boom.

Boom. Promotion. Favor. Perm... Promotion. Favor.

All because he saw his god all the time. Daniel six ten, it says as he had done previously, and week three we'll talk about that, but he's in this rhythm with God. He has this faith, this relationship with his father, so that when he's thrown into Daniel's... Into the lion's den, he ain't scared. That's where we wanna be. So whenever the the ship that we're on comes into a storm, we're not like the disciples, oh my god.

Jesus is like, oh you little faith guys. What do you think I'm asleep? The God that never sleeps or no slumbers. He's not deaf. He's not mute. He's not...

No. He speaks. He is God. You make time for what you treasure. You make time for what you treasure. You don't rise to the moment.

You fall back on your rhythm. So whatever you build in quiet is what holds you in the storms when all hell breaks loose because it's gonna break loose. Happened to everyone in the Bible, so when it happens to you, don't be like, oh, woe is me. Oh, goodness. I can't believe I thought because I'm with God. None of this would happen.

I got a flat tire today. How come that happened? Because you ran over a nail. That's okay. It's it's just life. You know?

You wanna be so good with your father, so connected with him, and nothing shakes you because of... Man, I'm with God. Man, the more I'm with him, the more... Then then you get more hungry. Then you get more... It's like you wanna get in the habit of constantly being with the father.

And when you look back at all these other great men and women of God, you see the results of it. And the goal is him. The goal is him. The best goal you could have. Because you make time for what you treasure. See, faith point four shuts the door.

Faith shuts the door. Matthew six six. And when you pray, but when you pray, go into your room and shut the door, and pray to your father who is in secret. That's what the scripture says. When you pray, go into your room, shut the door, pray to your father who is in secret, and your father who sees in secret will reward you. Go test that out.

Go try. Go see what happens. Everything will change in your life when you shut the door and you seek him. He's a rewarder. He will reward you. A rewarder.

All throughout scriptures it says it. All these great men and women that were died and were killed and were... They all wrote about the great reward they had being with their father. And they have great amazing stories of seeing their faith in action and giants slayed and big boats built before they saw rain or walls falling down of giant cities because all they did was just worship the king, wrestling with God, visions and being... Getting inside information on how to strategically put their army and fight the enemy. And all the time, God's son standing still so they could win battles.

Praying for rain, and then it don't rain for three years, and then praying it comes back. I mean, all kind of things that took place because of the time being thrown in the fire, being thrown with the lions because they had a relationship with their father. The more you shut the door, the more faith you'll have. The more assurance and conviction you'll have in your father. Because you know him, and you've gotten to know him. It's like when you're in a relationship with someone that you're married to or you're dating, the more time you spend with them, the more you trust them.

And when things happen like they're not there when you wake up or they're late or whatever. You have this confidence. Oh, everything's fine. When they travel, everything. I know them. I know them.

And the same thing with you. The more you're with him, the more, oh, I know everything's good. We'll be good. Everything's gonna be fine. Amen. Look what Jesus did.

Jesus didn't just teach it. He lived it. I mean, the son of God, the son of the living God. Look at Mark one thirty five, and rising very early in the morning while it was still dark, he departed and went out to desolate place. There he prayed. Jesus himself, the son of the God, needs the secret place.

What makes us think that we don't? And I know this is all of us. We we we just think we don't. And we wonder why we're hungry or tired or burnt out or exhausted and all these other things. And our this and that is difficult and everything else is going around and we don't know what to do because we don't do this. What makes us think that if the son of God needed to do it that we don't need to do it?

Jesus did it all the time, and he was God in the flesh. So everything Jesus did in public flowed from something in private. Everything. So I want a good marriage, I want to be a good father, a good mother, I want a good business, I want to succeed. All these great things I want to accomplish and do, and whatever it might be, all flows of your private relationship with the father. There's a ton of bad deals that I did that I didn't involve the father in.

Man, I wish I would have went back and actually listened to him and then listened to his word, and I didn't. And you pay when you don't do it his way and when you don't have that relationship. Esther saved a nation, but first she shut the door and sought God for three days. Week four will go there. Everything Jesus did came and flowed from his private relationship with his father. So what God does in the secret, he'll show through you in public.

What he does with you in secret will show through you in public. So you you have to stop trying to win on the stage what you haven't won in the secret place. It's like people that post on Instagram, everything's great in their life and everything's happy, but inside they're not and everything's horrible and behind the scenes it's not. Look, you could post whatever you want on Instagram, and it could be really true because it actually is true because everything that you're showing on the outside is already taking place on the inside. Or you can just be a fake person like a lot of people are, and they really don't have peace. They really don't have joy, and they're just pretending.

I don't want to be a pretender. And I want to be through and through, right with God, living for God, worshiping God, a relationship with God. Amen. I love this because faith isn't a feeling. Faith is a step. Faith believes he's there.

Faith believes he's good. Faith makes time. Faith shuts the door. James four eight says, draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. He will. Hallelujah.

He's not asking you to be perfect or saying the perfect prayer. He's asking you to move one step, one door, shut the door. One morning, and he will meet you there. Amen. Faith doesn't just believe God exists. Faith moves towards him.

Faith believes he exists, and he's a rewarder of those that diligently seek him. So he is here. He is good. And I'll make time, and I'll shut the door, and I'm gonna draw near. Amen. The last scripture is not on there.

I was reading the book of Joshua. You just think of this guy. Joshua, he takes over from Moses. He's the assistant. Then he leads the the children of Israel after Moses passes, and he's about to die. He knows his life is coming to an end after all these great triumphs.

And before he leaves, he tells this... He says this to the people of God. He reads this scripture in Joshua twenty three and fourteen. He says, and now I'm about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you, and not one of them has failed. Not one.

Not one promise. This is what he's telling the whole nation before he dies. It means bold statement because if it's not true, and these guys are like, you're right. Go read that. Joshua twenty three fourteen through 15. Not one word has failed.

Amen? Amen. Not one. Father, I just thank you today. I thank you, Lord, that maybe we're here in this room, but we've been distant. We've been busy.

We've been worried about work and our career and everything that we gotta get done and all the things and the places that we gotta finally get to. And then once we get to that place, then we can finally slow down and then we could rest and then we could relax. But we've been busy, we've been distracted, we've been going through the motions. Faith isn't a feeling, it's a step. So let's take one today. Today, I wanna challenge you, holy spirit.

Lord, let us have a passion to draw near to our great god. Lord, I pray that you will stir in us a hunger, a thirst, a desire. Give us a vision. Lord, reset, renew our relationship with you. Lord, that we'll be people of faith, people of God, with full assurance and conviction, knowing the great God that we serve. But, Lord, we wanna seek you and find you.

Lord, we want to inquire of you and hear from you. We wanna talk to you face to face like Moses did, and get with you like Jesus did, and come boldly to you, Lord, and not be distracted any longer. Lord, forgive us. And, we take the challenge this week to seek you, to find you, to make time that we will make the time like we do with everything else in our life, that you though are our number one priority. And Lord, forgive us, Lord. Lord, forgive us.

Lord, we are so sorry. We repent. Lord, we thank you. Today, we have a new vision, a new direction, a reset this morning to go back to you, the way, the truth, the life, Jesus, to follow you, not be distracted by all these idols and all these things and all these things around us. But Lord, you are the great God. You are the great king.

You are the great king of glory. You are the one that we bless the Lord all our soul and all that is within me. Lord, you are the... What a God we serve. You are our everything. Lord, today I ask for a divine reset to take place in our hearts in this room, that we'll be people, Lord, that don't have idle faith, but have living active faith with action steps that we take in our marriage, in our home, in our families, Lord, in our businesses, in our career, in our church.

Lord, we'll be people of faith, Lord, because you are the goal, because you are our everything. Help us, Lord. Help us do that, Lord. In Jesus' name, help us, Lord. Maybe you're watching online, and maybe today you need to give Jesus Lord of your life. Some of you heard about him.

He's been knocking for a long time. You believe he exists, but you never open the door. Today is that day with every head bowed and eyes closed this morning. Just close your eyes this morning. And if you need to pray this prayer, you're watching online or you're in this room today, pray this with me. Say, Jesus, hear you knocking.

Open the door. I believe you died for me and rose again. Forgive me. Come in me. I give you my life. I don't wanna just believe in you.

I wanna know you. Amen. Welcome to the family. The father is running towards you right now, and you're new in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah. Father.

What a god. What a god. What a god. What a god. What a God. What a God.

Hey. This is what you gotta do this week. I want you to take the seven day seek challenge. Number one, shut the door. Pick your time and place, phone in another room, and shut the door. Pick a time and place.

Hey. I'm gonna meet with my father today at this time at this place with no distractions. And then when you get with him, you're gonna express your heart. You're gonna talk to him like a friend. You're gonna talk to God like a friend, and then you're gonna be quiet and listen. You're gonna express your heart to him.

You're gonna seek him. Number three, you're gonna exalt him. Maybe sing a song of worship. You know, the Bible says sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs unto the Lord. And sometimes, I'll just walk around my house, and I'll just start singing to the Lord. Like, this week will probably be, what a God, what a God.

And I'll just sing to him while you're driving. But whenever you come to him, man, and you just sing, you are my everything. Yes. You're my everything, Lord. You just sing to the Lord. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord like my wife does when she sings.

And then k, you keep his command, love one person on purpose today. The greatest command that Jesus gave was to love. Love people. Love each other as I've loved you. That's the greatest come. If you love like he loved, then it...

Everything else that you're trying to do or not trying to do, it's all encompassed in that. You do that, man, you... All the... You don't kill, you don't steal, you don't... Because you love people the way God's called you to love. That's it.

If I can do that in my marriage, if I can do that in my home, I can do that in my relationships, I can do that in my business, I can do that in my employees, however it is. If I can love people the way he loved me, this is faith in action. This is true living faith. You can know all the scriptures and go to all the colleges and have all the degrees, but when you actually do it, that's everything. You're a hero of the word, not a doer only. You heard it, and we do it.

Amen. So just start the rhythm. Pick your time and place. Show up seven days in a row. Come on. Read Hebrews 11 this week, the whole chapter, and every name in it, put faith into action.

Amen? What a God. What a God. What a God. What a God. Yes.

Time to invest invest of our life, to the Lord. It is, it is an opportunity for us. We have the screen. You can show the screen through your phone. That's one way to give. You can give them cash, money, send a check.

You can open up the home page for the church. Sell. During the week, you have sell here. Give give Imagine Church US. That works. Self is a good way.

It's an easy way. So there are so many ways for us to get involved. I was thinking to myself during the the the message today that such a good way to start talking about faith is to talk about our relationship to God. Because everything comes from him anyway. And he is a faith God and and when we spend time with him, of course, we get to know him more deeply and more, in a in a more real way. And when we do, his word means so much more to us because we know who is speaking.

We know who is saying what the word is saying. So the word comes alive from knowing him who spoke, who said. So, I I like this with the the seeking god challenge. And I was thinking to myself also today, it doesn't say how much time. Right? It's a...

And that's an interesting thing. I heard Lester Lester Sumrall, being a missionary, I I I I like him. He was a very, very, very strong, good missionary in in Philippines for a long time, many years. Good work. And he said... I heard him in Sweden at this church.

I heard him speak, and and he said that very seldom, I pray more than thirty minutes. And I was like, wow. That's interesting. You know, like, you you imagine he would he would be praying longer than that. But he said, but very seldom, it goes thirty minutes without praying. So that that that puts a balance.

It's it's not it's not really that we have to do so much or so much time anymore or or, you know, like, when you go in... But why don't we get in, you know, like, in this closet or whatever, you know, shut the door? And and you don't have to think that I'm gonna be here now for three hours and a half. But why why don't we just get in this room and just shut the door for a while, and we don't have to think about how much time it's gonna be in our lives? I remember going through bible school. I I I remember I I took a quality decision.

I'm gonna pray every day for five minutes. That doesn't sound very scary, does it? I'm gonna pray every day for five minutes. No. Like, it's... All of us could do that action.

See? But I have to confess something. Many times, I've stayed longer than five weeks. But that is, I think, better than trying to do something great and and and and not being able to follow. Okay. So so why not, you know, like, shut the door, just praise him and worship him for a while and just...

I'm gonna spend five minutes with him and then ending up staying there much longer than that because you you just feel that you get so much from it. And now giving is the same thing, really. It's involving God. It's it's connecting God with finances in a way in our life. So it's without faith, it's impossible to please God because we must believe. We have to believe that he exists, and he's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

We can seek him for our financial life We're just presenting a gift. And, again, don't feel that you have to do what you can do, but do what you can do. Do what feel comfortable doing. And and then, you know, it might happen that it becomes more one of these things. You know? Just start somewhere, and then let's let's see where we can go.

So, getting involved in such such a good way, and, of course, we have been talking much. We should pray and thank him. Thank God for him seeking us and making us part of of him and what he wants to do. Thank you, father God, in Jesus' name for this morning. I've been in church again. It's part of our life, father God.

It's... You are part of our life. We wanna take this challenge to our hearts, father God, of seeking you every day, And we wanna take this challenge, father God, of activating our faith even in giving for finances, father God, because it's a giving and receiving deal. Father, we thank you so much that we can trust you. We can... We we we know that you are our rewarder.

When we give, that's one way to seek you. Yes. Father God, in Jesus' name, we we want to say that we believe what you have promised in your word. That if we give, we will receive. That's why it is more blessed to give than to receive. We thank you so much, father God.

In Jesus' name, we present our offering today believing, father God, that you will take care of everything. Hallelujah in our lives, in the ministry, what we need to do. Jesus' holy name. Amen. And today, thirty nine years of marriage, my friend. Thirty nine years....

Yesterday. Yes. Yesterday. But... Thirty nine years.... Celebrating.

Come on. Yeah. Yeah. I think you celebrate for the next thirty nine years. Yeah. Hallelujah.

Man, congratulations. Man, we're so proud of you. Thank you for your example, pastor David. Guys, we love you. Man, I'm telling you, every day, I'm on my knees for all of you. Every every morning, I'm at my house, and I'm like, Lord, I'm praying for David.

I'm praying for Matteo. I'm praying for Hector and for Nina. I'm praying for Kimberly. I'm praying for Vicky. Every every day, I'm praying for you guys. I'm praying for God to bless you, to increase you, to help you, whatever, all the time.

We love you. We're praying for you, and I wanna challenge you. I'm not preaching something that I just think about. It's something I do, and I'm telling you it'll change everything. When you seek him, you will find him. Amen?